


Give Or Take A Few Years

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Human Castiel, Kidfic, OC (extremely minimal character), Post Season 8
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-23 17:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean go on a hunt for a witch who turns Dean into a toddler. This is how they deal with the aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little starter chapter for a short fic. Post season 8 so Castiel is human and Kevin is living with them in the MoL bunker for right now.

"Whats going on?" Cas said. Entering the room and finding the new inhabitance there quite confusing. There was Kevin, of course. Kevin was always here. Sam was running around trying to capture a something on the floor. "Where's Dean?"

"Yeah about that.." Sam grunted picking up what he was chasing on the floor. It was a toddler, one just old enough to learn how to walk. The child was swimming in his shirt, and his freckled face and green eyes made Cas's stomach drop.

"Dean?" He asked. The child turned his head obediently at the sound of his own name. His eyes lit up when they caught sight of him.

"Caaaas!" The child wailed in his (now bigger) brother's arms. He struggled until Sam let him down. He ran to Castiel throwing his arm around the mans legs. "Up! Up!" He demanded. Hopping up and down, nearly falling over as he did so. Cas picked the child up cautiously, holding him like he was scared to hurt him.

"Dean?" He asked again. Sam shuffled on his feet for a bit.

"We had a run in with a witch. She got ahold of him before I could do anything..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I have to go out and buy him some clothes, and food, and ... things until we figure out how to reverse this."

"I see." Castiel said, although he didn't fully understand at all. I was taking a moment for his brain to process the fact that his best friend, the righteous man he raised from hell, was now a small child that he was able to lift into his own arms. Little Dean laughed and pulled at Castiel's collar of his new button up shirt. He had to admit; the little guy did seem happier.

When Sam got back from the store a few hours later both Dean and Castiel seemed to be in tears.

"Cas... whats wrong?"

"You've been gone for hours! Dean wont stop crying, I don't know whats wrong, Kevin locked himself in his room two hours ago..."

"It's okay, it's okay. Give him to me." Cas cautiously handed over the baby in fear that he would somehow start crying louder. Sam bounced him up and down, but that didn't seem to help. He checked him; he was dry and clean. Then the lightbulb went off. "Here." He handed Dean back to Cas.

Sam grabbed a bag and rushed to the kitchen. Less than two minutes later he was back with a bottle. Hurrying back to Cas as if they had to defuse a bomb.

"Here you go little man." Dean took the bottle and silenced immediately.  
"He was just hungry."

"Just hungry?" Cas seemed dumbfounded. "That was quite a lot of fuss for 'just hungry', Dean." He spoke to the child and Sam laughed. This was going to be an adventure.


	2. Nightmare

They studied up on witches curses for weeks but all they were able to find was one solution. Kill said witch. This was going to take longer than they anticipated since she got away.

When Sam went out to the store he couldn't believe he found it. A blue tee, Dean's size, with the words "I WUV HUGS" written out on a smiling teddy bear's stomach. Dean would kill him for even thinking of buying it, but that would be later... hopefully not too much later.

It was weird at the bunker nowadays. The usual sulky air his brother emitted when he was upset was gone. Replaced by shrill shreaks of laughter and occasionally cries.

For the time being, Dean slept in Sam's bed. The child scooted towards his brother and hugged his arm. He demanded a story, every night. It was exhausting.

"Story, Sammy." he pulled on his brother's sleeve.

"Okay..." He tried to think of a good one, he was running low on material with happy endings. "Once upon a time there was a evil man called the trickster..." He trailed on to tell the story of the archangel Gabriel who started out evil, and ended being a useful ally and friend (omitting obvious occurrences of course). Dean liked it when he was one of the hero's in the story, and he especially liked it when they were comical, mainly to Sam's expense.

Sam didn't even get through the event of them coming across a sewer-gator when he heard soft snoring coming from his side. THANK GOD. Sam thought. He was so tired. As soon as the Winchester closed his eyes he was out. Only to be stirred awake at three a.m. by the sound of a loud crash somewhere off in the spans of the bunker.

Looking over to his side, he saw that his brother was gone.

"Dean?" He called, flailing out from the covers and sprinting down to where the sound came from.

The toddler was crying on the floor. Sam turned on the light to see that one of the odd appliances had been knocked over, apparently Dean had run into it in the dark.

"Al-stare." He whimpered through his tears. "Tell Cas-s, don't...let em-m... get me-e-e." he sniffled. Oh, he had a nightmare. "I try-y find him-m." He explained.

He wanted to help him but didn't want to just hand over a snotty, crying, baby to Cas. He remembered back when they found that poor shifter baby, what his brother had done to get him to stop crying. He picked up his Dean and began bouncing him as he had done, humming the tune of Smoke On The Water as he did so.

Dean calmed and sniffled onto Sam's shoulder. "Want Cas." He mumbled.

"Whats going on?" Ah, just who they were looking for. Castiel walked bleary eyed into the room followed shortly by Kevin, who really looked worse for ware.

"Dean had a nightmare... um... remembering H-E-L-L." Cas nodded. "He was looking for you."

"Come here." He said and Sam duly handed the child over.

"Can't let em get me, Cas." He squeezed him around he neck.

"No one is going to hurt you Dean." He rubbed Dean's back and the child calmed slightly.

"Don't wanna sleep."

And that's how Castiel ended up staying awake for three hours in the middle of the night, comforting his best friend. When the rest of the household awoke well after sunrise, the two were still sitting, if you could call it that, in the chair by the table.

Cas was sprawled out on the chair, his neck crooked in a position that could not have been comfortable. Dean curled up like a cat on his lap.

Sam tapped Cas gently on the shoulder and he stirred. "We're gonna get him a crib." He said to the bleary-eyed man. Sam picked up his brother who was still sleeping soundly. Cas rose soon after and winced at the stiffness of his joints.

He nods. "Good."


	3. Shopping, Slinkies, And Impossible Cribs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter 3! Okay just a side note that this is for fun and I take a hell of a lot of liberties to how old dean is and how he acts and interacts with others (I'm trying to make him as cute as possible but also still Dean-ish). I'm taking from some experience and banking a lot on this just being fictional fun (as he is an adult who was magically turned into a child) and hoping y'all just roll with it.

"Okay... I have absolutely no idea where the hell any of this goes." Sam said as he sifted through the pieces of the do-it-yourself crib they bought at the baby store. "If this is 'A' and this is 'B' how the heck do they both connect to slot 'E'..." He fumbled with the parts while Cas and Kevin tried to do their best to keep Dean occupied.

A Few Hours Ago

They thought it might have been a good idea for him to tag along with them to the store since he has been cooped up in the bunker for a while. But there was something Sam had totally forgotten about his brother; he was a 'see for himself' kind of kid. Which meant he had to touch everything. Kevin was set in charge of him because he was the youngest and that apparently meant he drew a short straw.

As they walked through the isles he was constantly picking up the child and setting him away from high stacks of toys and boxes and things he just plain didn't need. After he nearly knocked over a stuffed teddy display Kevin set on putting the tyke in a cart, much to his protest. Dean threw a full on fit at being buckled into the seat and people stared at the two. But Kevin couldn't care less, he wasn't getting paid to babysit this thirty-five year-old who apparently just turned one-and-a-half. And being that some of the adult in him seemed to come through, not only could he talk a bit beyond 'mama' 'dada', but he could also scheme like a professional.

After strolling around a bit, he calmed down and twiddled with his fingers. "Want Sam." he mumbled.

Kevin scoffed. "Why, so you can cute him into getting you a toy? No."

"Cas?"

He looked at him like he must be kidding. "No." He knew too well that his brother and the ex-angel couldn't say no to him. They would go on about how he never got a 'normal' childhood which to Kevin was complete crap considering that apparently he had a damn well apple pie life up until the age of four. They could start doting on him then, but for now something had to be done about his attitude.

There was a reason Kevin didn't babysit. Ever.

Dean crossed his arms and pouted. "You're mean." He grumbled.

"Damn strait." Kevin smiled which only made the child angrier that his insult didn't work.

Finally the two groups ran into each other and decided it was time to head back. Dean was still all grumbly as he was set in the carseat. Sam who noticed this looked over at Cas and nodded. Half way down the road the he turned around to the child.

"Now Dean, Sam tells me you can only have whats in this bag if you promise to be good." He started to hand the bag over to the child when he saw Kevin roll his eye in his I knew it fashion. He pulled back. "And, you have to apologize to Kevin."

Dean looked down shyly at his feet. "pwomis... sowy Kevin." he was twiddling with his fingers again.

Cas handed over the bag and when Dean opened it, it was like the world had stopped. His green eyes lit up bright and his mouth gaped wide. A rainbow slinky in his little hands. Thirty-five years old or just turning two, Sam knew exactly how his brother worked.

Now however, the slinky didn't seem to be as awe inspiring as it had once been before. Dean got over the excitement of his new toy a half an hour after they arrived back at the bunker. And it was as if no one could keep his attention. If the guys didn't know any better, they'd say he was doing it on purpose.

"I'm an advanced placement student, I should be in college right now. Not babysitting a snot nose little brat." Kevin groaned as he struggled with the already tangled slinky. Dean refused to play with it until it was fixed like new. Which by Kevin's hands was not going to happen. He handed the toy to Cas, who by the looks of it was ready to go back out and buy the kid ten more slinkies just to get him to shut up and sit down.

"This is impossible!" Sam shouted at the disassembled crib, instructions that said 'english' but still didn't make a lick of sense, and the stupid box that his brother kept hiding that said 'Easy Assemble' on the top. Easy Assemble my ass! He thought.

At the sound of his brother shouting Dean stopped running around and screaming like the ball of energy that he was and toddled towards Sam. He picked up the instructions, looking at them upside-down, before throwing them aside and plopping down next to Sam. He grabbed a piece from Sam and looked at the colored sticker on it. "Blue." He said pointing to the circle. He picked up a second piece with another blue sticker on it and clanged the two together to show his brother they were supposed to connect.

Sam picked up the instructions. "But this is 'C', it doesn't go with this one." He explained. Dean rolled his eyes in a way that was too grown up for his two-year-old face and snatched the paper away from him and clanged the pieces together again. "Alright, alright." He took the pieces from his brother and he wouldn't have believed it but they fit together perfectly. Dean tugged on his toes as he smiled smugly at him... clever little brat.

The two of them worked on piecing the contraption together. Sam hoped that if Dean helped build it he would want to sleep in it more. Please? He never got to see his brother at this age so he wasn't sure what to expect. Obviously the child was not normal. (He was thirty-five for Christ sakes!) He'd reverted in most aspects; appearance of course, his language and motor skills definitely (they had yet to hear him drop so much as 'hell' since he was de-aged), but his mind still seemed to be Dean's he remembered things. However his attitude towards what he remembered was also regressed (hence the crying at nightmares and willing displays of affection that were not normal Dean behavior, but were typical of a two-year-old).

Once the brothers got a rhythm going on building the crib Sam turned around, held in his chuckle, and gestured Dean to turn around as well. They looked back on the other two men who had somehow ended up getting themselves tangled in the troublesome toy. The toddler laughed and pointed at the spectacle.

"This isn't funny, Dean." Cas grumbled, and Kevin just looked ashamed to be part of it. I could be getting a degree right now...

Dean giggled again. "Uh-huh!" The two struggled to get out of the plastic toy's grasp while their audience looked on.

"How exactly did this happen?" Sam asked, failing to hide his smile.

Cas opened his mouth to explain but the prophet cut him off. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Sam rolled his eyes and picked up Dean as he stood. "Come on, lets get the scissors."

"No!" Dean wined at the thought of destroying his new toy.

"We'll by you another one." Sam assured him, then he leaned in close to whisper. "And those two won't be allowed to touch it." Dean smiled and nodded, then laughed again as he watched Kevin and Castiel attempt to maneuver their way through the door ever so awkwardly. It would seem that the toddler wasn't the only one who needed supervision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay I know not a lot has gone on in terms of story progression but... oh well. I promise more drama in the future.


	4. One-On-One Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly little Dean getting some one-on-one time with the three guys.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sam asked. Kevin always seemed to be in a bad mood since he realized he couldn't get out of this life. He was a profit of The Lord until he stopped existing. Frankly he hadn't come to terms with that just yet.

"Yeah we'll be fine," Kevin insisted. He understood how important the hunt was and he didn't want to delay them any longer. Especially when it was Sam's first hunt where it was just Cas and him.

The night when on as usual. Dean played attempted to build ridiculous sized Lego creations and Kevin continued research on trying to get him back to normal... Which between the three of them was becoming less and less of a priority.

Dean was happy now. Sure he had his moments. Nightmares, instances where a memory was triggered and he missed Bobby, John, or his mother.  
But they haven't seen him smile as much as he did now since... well... ever.

It was starting to get late and Dean's eyes were starting to droop with exhaustion. Kevin carried him to the bedroom, changed him, and tucked him in. Their movements were monotonous, both too tired to care.

Kevin could have sworn Dean was asleep before he even left the room. But a small voice stopped him at the door.

"Sowy, Kebin." Dean said as he watched him head for the door.

"For what?" Kevin asked, confused at the child's gesture.

"Yelling at you... before..." He was talking about before he was turned younger, before the angels fell. He walked back over to the crib.

"No, don't you be sorry. I was a di- meany face." He still couldn't bring himself to swear in front of the kid who not long ago was cussing like a sailor. "And you were just doing your job, okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sad no more Kebin." He reached up and hugged him. "Don't like it when family is sad."

Family. The word hit him like a bag of bricks. Dean included him in with their family. He was so mad and upset that he had been ripped away from his own that he didn't see the one he had in front of him. He squeezed Dean tighter in return, he didn't know how much Dean would remember of this, and if he let him see him cry, he may never live it down.

"Okay, Dean."

: :

The next day after lunch, Kevin surprised Dean by taking him out to the park for ice cream. He never realized how chatty the kid could get when you got him going. It started with the pet store.

They were walking by to the ice cream stand when they came across Suzie's Pet Shoppe. Spotting the cute, fuzzy animals, Kevin lifted up Dean so he could get a peak. Dean's eyes grew wide, but his response was not what his babysitter had been expecting.

"DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!" He squirmed and Kevin swiftly obliged. Once he was on his feet, he tugged on the prophet's arm as hard as he could, fear blazing in his eyes.

"It's okay, they're just puppies and kittens."

"Don't like dogs." He pulled and they walked away from the storefront.

"Not even kittens?"

Dean shook his head wildly. "Cats make me sneeze." He rubbed his nose as if just looking at them was giving him the sniffles.

"Well, why don't you like dogs?" And that was it the question that opened up a hour long story as to why Dean didn't like dogs. Kevin only understood about half of what the kid was saying, as the story kept on as he was taking mouthfuls of his ice cream.

After hearing what he could understand, it was no wonder why the Winchester didn't like canines. The tale was terrifying, but the child went on and on like it was no big deal. Brushing it off like a Winchester.

They were at the park and both of them were sharing stories of some traumatic experiences, earning some strange glares from onlookers who couldn't believe this guy was talking to a two year old the way he was. To Hell with them, they were having a blast.

A few days later

The bunker door clicked open and the two disheveled men trudged through the threshold.

"You did pretty well out there Cas." Sam complimented as they set down their bags. It was Cas' first hunt as a human without Dean, and they were both a little wary on how everything would go.

"You can thank your brother for that. He had me practice incessantly in the shooting range before and I've been trying to keep up the habit." Cas said. He still couldn't understand how Dean could get the job done on only four hours of sleep, he was exhausted. "Speaking of which, where is he?" He listened for the usual bickering he would normally hear between Kevin and Dean, but it was quiet.

"Maybe they're out." Sam suggested. But doubted it instantly. The lights were on along and there were still plates out at the table.

Sam and Castiel rounded the corner to Dean's bedroom to find the two of them sleeping soundly on younger one's bedroom floor. Legos were stacked to the ceiling in a neat tower while the rest of the room lay in disarray. Papers crayons and other miscellaneous toys strewn carelessly across the floor. Sam spotted a rainbow colored box up on the shelf with a picture of a coil on it.

"You think they've made up?" Cas asks Sam as they creep past the door.

"Yeah." Sam smiles to himself.

"I hope so. I have little patience for Kevin's complaints."

Sam snickered. "Yeah. Um, let's get unpacked."

: :

Dean sat on the floor of his newly furnished bedroom humming to what Sam believed was Metallica. He was coloring with some crayons and his pile of drawings was growing larger. Cas sat across from him. Drawing a little himself, but mostly admiring the drawings Dean had done.

"Who's this?" he asked holding up a picture of an expressionless man, His head slightly tilted with crazily drawn short hair.

"Dat's you silly!" He giggled when Cas inspected the drawing, mirroring the expression.

He held up another picture of a man standing by a black car. "And this?"

"Dat's me!" Dean smiled. "When I was bigger..." He trailed off, rubbing his small fingers over the crayon lines. He brushed off his momentary sadness and pulled out the drawing he was currently working on. "Me wit Sammy and Chawlie." He said. The picture was of the three of them in their larping costumes.

"Charlie?" He asked.

"Yeah, she our friend." He confirmed then pointed to the crudely drawn crown on her head. "She a queen," then he pointed to the other figures. "We knights."

"That is very nice, Dean." Cas said handing the child back his drawing so he could finish it.

"Tanks... What you draw?"

Cas leaned over to show Dean his drawing, it was a simple daisy with a yellow center and a green stem, nothing special, but it past the time. The toddler smiled. "Cool." He lifted up another picture. This one was odd there were two men standing side by side with frowny faces. They looked to be holding hands, but both of their arms seemed to have been surrounded in a scribbly swarm of different colors.

"Is this me and Kevin?"

"Yep, you guys funny." Dean giggled.

"Sorry about your toy."

"It okay, Kebin got me new one." Castiel had to raise his eyebrows at that one.

"He did?"

Dean nodded. "Sammy said be vawy cawful." He stood up and retrieved a multicolored box from the end table. His brother told him keeping it there would make it last longer. The toddler removed the toy with careful precision before slinking it back and forth in his little hands. "Can we play down steps?"

Cas nodded.

Thirty minutes later Sam came back with Kevin to find Cas at the top of the stairwell while Dean waited at the bottom for the coil to reach him. This game really didn't involve the kid doing anything besides sitting and waiting for the slinky to reach him while Cas trudged up and down the stairs to repeat the effect.

"Having fun?" Sam chuckled.

"Yep!" Dean shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"Loads." Cas remarked, giving a side glance to Kevin before handing over the toy to him.

"I see you've replaced the slinky."

Kevin just smiled down at Dean and waved. "Yes I did."

No hunts, no worries. Sam didn't like that he had to leave the poor kid out when he went on hunts with Cas or Kevin. Dean never complained, but when they arrived back after two or three days of being away, it was more like they were gone for two or three years. Dean would clutch on to them and not let go. This time, when he realized Sam and Kevin were back it was like he thought they were never coming home, they were gone for a whole week.

Sam quickly thought up a way to make up his absence to his brother.

: :

"Look Sammy! It's YOU!" Dean giggled.

Sam rolled his eyes, before them was a monstrously oversized moose, grazing behind the fence. "Yep." He smiled at the ongoing joke. Dean was up on his shoulders so he wouldn't tire out his little legs while exploring the zoo. Plus, his brother's shoulders gave him a great view.

The whole trip made Dean so happy that Sam didn't even mind the ice cream that dripped down into his hair. He couldn't see his brothers face, but by the stickiness on his head, he could tell Dean was a mess. They walked on a little bit longer, making sure that they hadn't missed any of the animals.

"OOOHHH! OOOOHHHH!" Dean wailed and kicked at Sam's chest. He spotted a carousel that housed different animals to ride as well as a few miniature vintage looking cars. He grabbed Sam's face, rested his chin on the top of his head and turned him to face the ride. "Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaase!" He begged.

"Sure." Sam allowed.

Dean pumped his hand into the air. "Yes!"

They got into the line and it turned out that Dean was still not quite tall enough to get on the ride without being accompanied by an adult. So that's how Sam was coaxed into riding a carousel giraffe beside his brother in a cherry red automobile.

He tried to ignore the little looks and waves he was receiving from people, most of which were single mothers with their children who admired the man who dwarfed the plastic giraffe. It was more than likely that they thought they were father and son, he contemplated telling one woman they were actually brothers when she commented on his parenting when they got off the ride, but that would be a bit hard to explain... considering he was in his thirties and Dean looked to be about two or three.

They came home to find Kevin and Castiel discussing something heatedly at the table.

"Hey guys. What's been going on?" Sam whispered. Dean had fallen asleep on the car ride back.

"I'll take him to bed." Kevin offered. "Cas will probably be better at explaining it anyways." He took the sleeping toddler and headed off to his room.

"Explain what?"

"We... We believe we've found a cure for Dean's... condition."

"It could age him too far or not far enough."

"Too far?"

"A smidgen in the wrong direction could add 80 years, or only eight months." He explained. Sam let this sink in.


End file.
